Jason Akermanis owes Western Bulldogs, legend Chris Grant

[chef]

WESTERN Bulldogs legend Chris Grant has urged Jason Akermanis to play on and repay the club.
Grant declared Akermanis was still capable of playing a role in the Dogs' tilt for a premiership - as long as his mind was right.

"I think he owes it not only to himself, but his football club, to give himself every opportunity to help the club win the flag," Grant said.

"They (Bulldogs) are almost the only team in the competition that went out on a limb to actually get him.

"They've given him some sort of self-respect and respect back in the system so he should (play on)."

The comments from Grant, a former skipper and revered figure at the club, came as Akermanis was last night weighing up his future.

Akermanis yesterday copped an ultimatum by the Dogs to choose between football and the media and a decision will be made by noon today

Grant said Akermanis's breach of trust after his Herald Sun column on homosexuality was extremely serious, but made it clear the 33-year-old would be no help to the Dogs if he retired.

"He should be in the frame of mind of thinking 'How can I help this footy club?'," Grant said.

"He should be thinking: 'This is not the best two weeks I've ever had at this club, but I reckon at the end of the day I need to give something back here'."

It is believed Akermanis will serve a two-week suspension if he decides to continue to put his media commitments to the side for the rest of the year.

Grant said the club had to be tough on Akermanis, who made misleading comments after his controversial May 20 Herald Sun column.

"You just can't do that - and it wouldn't matter if it was Robert Murphy or Jason Akermanis," Grant said. "If that's occurred, he cops his right whack.

"They (the club) have a right to be angry about that and draw a line in the sand as to what's acceptable."

Akermanis has been hampered by a nerve problem in his hamstring, but Grant - a part-time marking coach and mentor at the Bulldogs - has no doubt he can get his body right with rest.

Grant said the only issue for the 33-year-old would be his mind.

"There's the old argument that if you're thinking about retirement, you're retired," Grant said.

"If he's thinking about that, then he's gone anyway.

"If he's thinking the world is against him and it's best to retire, then he has to retire - you can't ever get that out of your mind.

"Aker needs to make an honest assessment of what he reckons his body and mind is able to do - at the end of the day he's got to be in the frame of mind to do it."

Grant said Akermanis would benefit from taking a long-term view and aiming to be in peak physical shape at Round 22, heading into the finals.

"If he looks at the season as a marathon and he needs to just be there by the 42km mark, I reckon he's got the ability to be able to do that," Grant said.

"If he takes the frame of mind, 'I'm in poor form because my body's broken down a bit and I'm going to give myself every opportunity to be in as good a nick as I can by Round 22 to make an impact', I reckon he can do that."

Grant said Akermanis had been more than worth the effort over his 3 1/2 years.

"Up until this year, he's earned every game he's got - and plus," Grant said.

Grant said every serious finals challenger needed a list of 25 to 30 players capable of having an impact, and Akermanis was an "outstanding" option.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/jason-akermanis-owes-western-bulldogs-legend-chris-grant/story-e6frf9jf-1225873757270

[LostDoggy]

Heard the great man on radio late in the afternoon yesterday, and he spoke very well. I think he is giving Aker great advice and I hope that commonsense will prevail in this situation - I don't think Aker should retire just yet. I think he still has a great deal to offer on the field, once he gets his body right. I just hope his head is right!:D

[Mantis]

I hate when former club greats come out and give their opinion on matters that are going on behind closed doors at the club.

Chris while having a role in the media with the ABC is also down the club in a mentoring role and shouldn't be seen to be discussing club matters in this way.

These sorts of articles look tacky and they aren't something I wouldn't expect from Chris.

[LostDoggy]

I didn't see this article in the HS, but 774 radio rang Chris yesterday and asked for his opinion. He was very clear in what I heard that he wasn't privy to what had taken place at the club, but was just expressing his opinion. Why is that a problem - everyone else has an opinion on this?:(

[Mantis]

I didn't see this article in the HS, but 774 radio rang Chris yesterday and asked for his opinion. He was very clear in what I heard that he wasn't privy to what had taken place at the club, but was just expressing his opinion. Why is that a problem - everyone else has an opinion on this?:(

Because he is a former player of the I don't like it when former players commentate on these types of matters.

The whole issue is a big mess.... It should have been knocked on the head quickly rather than allowed to fester for this amount of time. The media are all over it because they need to discuss something and this issue is the flavour of the week.

We (the club) handled ourselves well last week with the Barry Hall issue, but have turned the full 180 degrees with regards to this weeks Aker issue.

[aker39]

I don't agree with everything that Caro says, but she made a point on Footy Classified last night that I agree with 100%.

The club needed to make a decision, not leave it up to Aker to make a decision.

[Desipura]

I was thinking about this last night.
If we give him an ultimatum and he decides to walk, we run the risk of Aker further destabilising the club from the outside. He could go open slather through the media without any restrictions. This would truly kill any hopes of being there on the last day in September
Its best we give him a spell, have the final handover in all his future articles and get him fit and firing come September.

[LostDoggy]

On triple M this morning they said he had to choose between football and the media??? I wonder how correct this is and what the outcome will be

[chef]

I was thinking about this last night.
If we give him an ultimatum and he decides to walk, we run the risk of Aker further destabilising the club from the outside. He could go open slather through the media without any restrictions. This would truly kill any hopes of being there on the last day in SeptemberIts best we give him a spell, have the final handover in all his future articles and get him fit and firing come September.

Or it could galvanise the group.

[Mantis]

Or it could galvanise the group.

Having our hearts ripped out by St.Kilda in the PF last year should have already achieved that.

[chef]

Having our hearts ripped out by St.Kilda in the PF last year should have already achieved that.

You would think so, but it hasn't. Maybe a few home truths from someone on the inside might help. We are running out of time to get our heads right.

[aker39]

On triple M this morning they said he had to choose between football and the media??? I wonder how correct this is and what the outcome will be

KB said this morning that he had spoken to a very reliable source and that Aker will be allowed to continue his media commitments, but under a very tight reign and being on his last chance.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I don't agree with everything that Caro says, but she made a point on Footy Classified last night that I agree with 100%.

The club needed to make a decision, not leave it up to Aker to make a decision.

The club did make a decision. They gave Aker a set of alternatives and told him to make a decision based on that - in effect there is little decision if he wants to keep playing. The relationship between Aker and the club has been very positive, however the media want to spin it; he's been good for us, and we've been good for him

Clearly Caro has been keen to jump all over this and doesn't like Aker, and perhaps doesn't mind sinking the boots into the dogs.

[Swoop]

I always cringe when any former player makes comments about his clubs current situation, at the end of the day I understand Grant is employed to have an opinion and this is currently the topic of conversation, he has been now retired for two years and only has a minor part-time mentoring role down at the club so even though his comments made sense I would have preferred him to make them behind closed doors.

[mjp]

Having our hearts ripped out by St.Kilda in the PF last year should have already achieved that.

Maybe we are galvanised...but we just aren't good enough?

[azabob]

Maybe we are galvanised...but we just aren't good enough?

From memory you were worried about our list before the season had started.

What were your concerns and what do you think we need to improve on specifically?

[mjp]

From memory you were worried about our list before the season had started.

What were your concerns and what do you think we need to improve on specifically?

My issues have been documented for months and primarily revolve around three or four things:

1/.Lack of real midfield depth - borne out given Ward especially and Reid have been injured.
2/.Excessive number of forwards - lead/mark forwards specifically - in our best 22.
3/.Lack of run from behind the ball. Moving Griffen to the midfield permanently has compounded this (but helped address number one).
4/.Age.

My primary issue off-season of course was that we fixed something (the forward line) that wasn't broken. Now, the new working part (Barry Hall) has been exceptional - no question. But we are an easier match-up for opposition sides and accordingly we have gone from the heaviest scoring side in the competition to something less than that...and I dont think that is the direction we want to move in.

None of that has much to do with this though. My comment was a response to all the 'it is a mental issue', 'where is the hunger' etc stuff I am hearing...I am not saying that they are wrong, but it is possible there is a bigger problem - we aren't quite as good as we thought we were. In other words, it isn't in our heads - they are fine. We just aren't quite good enough. We are certainly not as good as Geelong...and if anything I think that the gap is widening!

[Stefcep]

but it is possible there is a bigger problem - we aren't quite as good as we thought we were. In other words, it isn't in our heads - they are fine. We just aren't quite good enough. We are certainly not as good as Geelong...and if anything I think that the gap is widening!

Agree.

BTW I don't agree with Chris Grant. Aker would have probably been picked up elsewhere if we didn't, too good a player. He's been asset to us in many ways. The last week or so the club's been to blame as much as he has for letting things get out of hand for NO GOOD REASON.

[chef]

Maybe we are galvanised...but we just aren't good enough?

Sadly you may be right:(

[LostDoggy]

None of that has much to do with this though. My comment was a response to all the 'it is a mental issue', 'where is the hunger' etc stuff I am hearing...I am not saying that they are wrong, but it is possible there is a bigger problem - we aren't quite as good as we thought we were. In other words, it isn't in our heads - they are fine. We just aren't quite good enough. We are certainly not as good as Geelong...and if anything I think that the gap is widening!

I'm probably the main proponent of the 'mental issue' side of things with my 'where's the hunger' thread, but this is not because I don't agree with your main points, mjp (I do), and there are certainly major physical and balance issues in our list to address.

But not being as good as Geelong (with Pods straightening them up now, probably the best team of recent memory, including the three-peat Lions) is quite different to not turning up to play against the Bombers, conceding 4 goals in the last 5 minutes against the Saints and mentally going home at halftime against the Lions.

Crappy teams get blown out of the water. Mediocre teams try hard but fall short. Limited teams put on good showings for 30 point losses. They don't jog around for 2 hours then then put on 3-minute 5 goal bursts to bring a 40 point deficit to 9 points when they feel like it, or keep a grand finalist down to 3 goals for the best part of 4 quarters. We're not Geelong, no one is, but we're certainly no worse than Collingwood, St.Kilda, Hawthorn, Freo, Sydney or anyone else in the next tier down from the Cats (all of whom also have significant list balance and injury issues).

There isn't a standout team this season apart from Geelong, no reason why we couldn't still make the GF with some form, and if our list is in the right place physically and mentally.

[mjp]

I'm probably the main proponent of the 'mental issue' side of things with my 'where's the hunger' thread.

Not intended to be a shot at anyone - I guess I am seeing and hearing a lot of talk about it all being mental, and just put forward a counter point.

I have no idea what sort of team we have at the moment - none whatsoever - and this is with regard to mentallity as well as game style. All I know is whenever we come up against an opponent prepared to play with a bit of grit, we lose. I reckon we are a team of bullies, happy to push around North but not prepared to stand firm when the pressure is on. We lose one-on-one contests, we make bad decisions with the ball...to me that points to either a lack of focus or something more serious.

Let's hope it is a lack of focus.

[LostDoggy]

All I know is whenever we come up against an opponent prepared to play with a bit of grit, we lose. I reckon we are a team of bullies, happy to push around North but not prepared to stand firm when the pressure is on. We lose one-on-one contests, we make bad decisions with the ball...to me that points to either a lack of focus or something more serious.
Let's hope it is a lack of focus.

No worries mjp, didn't take it as a pot-shot at all! Just clarifying that since I was the one to put forward the mental stuff, that I should probably have a go at explaining that side of things.

But it looks like we're both saying pretty much the same thing but don't really know what the cause is -- we're speculating that it's a combination of an imbalanced list, physical issues/injuries, focus (which is my 'mental softness' angle), and potentially just other clubs having caught up with us (ie. we're not as good as we think we are, relatively speaking). I've chosen to highlight the mental aspect, but all the other issues are also highly relevant. It just seems that the mental bit is the only one really in the players' control, so if they can get that right it fixes one side of the equation.

The 'bad decisions with the ball' bit is what worries me the most -- players don't lose their skill or decision-making ability overnight, so either they are trying to play out of their comfort zone (Boydy), or their minds are just that little bit off the pace.

[chef]

I have no idea what sort of team we have at the moment - none whatsoever - and this is with regard to mentallity as well as game style. All I know is whenever we come up against an opponent prepared to play with a bit of grit, we lose. I reckon we are a team of bullies, happy to push around North but not prepared to stand firm when the pressure is on. We lose one-on-one contests, we make bad decisions with the ball...to me that points to either a lack of focus or something more serious.


We beat the Hawks, didn't Eade say this was one of the toughest games he's ever coached?.

[Ozza]

. We lose one-on-one contests, we make bad decisions with the ball...to me that points to either a lack of focus or something more serious.

Let's hope it is a lack of focus.

I still think our contested footy is as good as any other team. But I certainly agree we have been making bad decisions with the ball. On execution on the whole has been way down.

[Mantis]

I still think our contested footy is as good as any other team. But I certainly agree we have been making bad decisions with the ball. On execution on the whole has been way down.

Maybe the players are simply being over-loaded with information and are becoming gun shy when it comes to disposing with the ball.

[FrediKanoute]

I think our game style looks way more complicated this year than it did last year. We seem to try to flip the handball around quite a bit more. That may be added pressure, but we seem to look at the handball as the first option and some of our guys just don't have quick enough hands to execure this skill effectively.